Lucknow, June 24 -- Amid the chaos and desperation that marked Monday's deadly fire in Aliganj, a nearby government campus quietly emerged as a crucial support base for rescue teams battling the blaze. As firefighters worked to bring the fire under control in the narrow residential lane, they encountered a challenge that often goes unnoticed during major firefighting operations - maintaining a steady water supply. The lane where the incident occurred has around 28 houses, of which only two are being used for illegally commercial purposes. Because the area is primarily residential, it lacks the firefighting infrastructure typically available in commercial zones, including dedicated fire hydrants that allow fire tenders to refill quickly during emergencies. As the operation stretched on and fire tenders exhausted their onboard water reserves, crews had to repeatedly travel to the nearby Geological Survey of India (GSI) campus to refill their tanks before returning to the scene. "The fire was intense and required continuous water supply. In commercial areas, fire hydrants are usually available nearby, but this locality was predominantly residential. The GSI campus proved to be a lifeline for us," said a firefighter involved in the operation, requesting anonymity. Officials said the facility had the infrastructure needed to supply large quantities of water, enabling firefighting vehicles to return to the scene without significant delays. According to firefighters, access to such a water source became critical as teams struggled to contain the flames and rescue those trapped inside the building. The operation involved multiple fire tenders and continued for several hours. Had the nearby facility not been available, maintaining uninterrupted firefighting efforts would have been significantly more difficult, rescue personnel said....